Michigan State University Athletics
Bailey, Garvelink Honored by Big Ten
11/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
For the first time this season, the Big Ten Conference weekly award winners include a pair of Spartans, as Autumn Bailey (Burlington, Ontario) has been named the B1G Player of the Week and junior Alyssa Garvelink (Holland, Mich.) shares the Defensive Player of the Week honors.
The Spartans, who have won four straight matches, improved to 21-5 overall with a pair of three-set sweeps of both Northwestern and Illinois at Jenison Field House last weekend. Garvelink had nine kills, hit .467, and added four blocks - including two solo - against the Wildcats, then had six kills without an error and a career-best 10 block assists vs. the Illini as MSU avenged a three-set loss in Champaign earlier this season. As for Bailey, she had one double-double in the two wins and barely missed a second - she had 13 kills, hit .500, and also had 15 digs against Northwestern, and added a season-best five service aces. In the Saturday match vs. Illinois, she produced 10 kills and nine digs, along with two blocks (one solo).
With her 10 block assists vs. Illinois, Garvelink tied the school mark for block assists in a three-set match, which was last accomplished by Alexis Mathews vs. Michigan on Nov. 24, 2010. The 10 blocks is also tied for the fifth-most overall in a three-set affair. Her 10 blocks is tied for the most by a Big Ten player in a match this season. Garvelink currently ranks fifth in the B1G in blocks (1.31/s) and seventh in hitting percentage (.377). She also currently averages 2.44 kills per set.
Garvelink is on the brink of breaking into the all-time Spartan top 10 for career blocks, as she is 10 behind Jenilee Rathje (2007-11), who had 366 career blocks. She needs two more block assists to move into the all-time top 10 in that category, as she currently has 319. Garvelink shared the Defensive Player of the Week award with Amber Rolfzen of Nebraska.
Bailey, a transfer from Marquette who missed the entire 2015 Spartan season with an injury, leads MSU with 3.25 kills per set, which is 10th among Big Ten leaders. She has been MSU's top kill producer in 13 of 26 matches this season. She also ranks second on the team with 2.51 digs per set, only behind libero Abby Monson. She ranks eighth in the Big Ten with 0.33 service aces per set, and averages 0.37 blocks per frame.
Bailey captures her first-ever Big Ten Player of the Week honor, while Garvelink won Player of the Week honors on Oct. 10 2015. She was also a two-time Freshman of the Week honorese in 2014.
Michigan State closes out a 16-game regular-season home slate this week with a pair of matches at Jenison Field House. MSU hosts Purdue on Wednesday evening at 7 pm, and then welcomes in-state rival Michigan to East Lansing on Saturday for the annual "Jam Jenison" event. Saturday is also senior night, where the careers of the four Spartan seniors will be honored at the conclusion of the match.
